OKLAHOMA CITY – USA Softball announced today that Will Spencer (Clinton, La.) has won a prize pack after becoming the 20,000th coach to complete the ACE (Aspire, Challenge, Encourage) Coach Education Program this 2018 season. The ACE Coach Education Program is designed to provide softball coaches of all levels, from beginning coaches to experienced veterans, an opportunity to further their education as a coach with the National Governing Body of Softball. For the seventh-straight year, USA Softball has teamed up with Pocket Radar™ to provide coaches with a prize pack. At every 5,000th milestone, USA Softball will award that coach with a brand new Ball Coach Training Tool, courtesy of Pocket Radar™ ($300 value).

“I was fortunate enough to play baseball at a high level, and play for arguably the best coach in the history of college baseball in Skip Bertman,” said Spencer. “Skip always told us that it’s the little things that win big games. With that philosophy in my head, I set out to teach 10 kids from a little town how to play softball. We played hard and won State as a first year 10-Under team, and it took off from there."

Having taken the ACE Education courses, Spencer says the benefits of the ACE program specifically this year have helped him to, “learn more about how to handle harassment situations. Whether it be sexual harassment or bullying, these are situations I was in the dark about dealing with and I found the whole (ACE education) section very beneficial."

As the National Governing Body of Softball, it is USA Softball’s responsibility to ensure that coaches achieve a certain level of understanding of their duties as a coach of a youth softball team. The ACE Coach Education Program videos and the ACE Coach Program Manual are practical guides to the everyday situations encountered as a youth softball coach.

When asked what him and his team most enjoy about playing USA Softball, Spencer said, “I like that it’s an ‘earn it’ type of group. Things aren’t given to anyone. From tryouts for our elite teams to the National Tournament system, you have to qualify based on performance. I also like that education is always provided to coaches for the off-the-field and injury issues, to individual and team softball drills and instruction — all tools that help us promote a healthy program."

It is highly recommended that all coaches wishing to coach at the Championship Play level or those coaches wanting to receive full ACE Coach program benefits become an ACE coach. Coaches can do so online using the ACE Online System on RegisterUSASoftball.com. There are four levels to the ACE program and upon successful completion of each level, benefits include RPS Bollinger insurance coverage, a background check clearance and ID card.

Spencer’s goals are similar to the team goals and he says, “I want to be a better coach today than I was yesterday, and I ask the players to do the same. Coach Nick Saban says that every day one of two things happen. You either improve or regress — you never stay the same. Staying the same means you’re regressing. Try and be a better child, sibling, friend, teammate, player and ultimately, a better person. If you do that, it will prepare you for whatever the next step is — whether it’s 10, 12 or 18-Under to college softball and life."

About Pocket RadarFrom the world’s smallest certified accurate speed radar, to the only radar gun specifically designed for coaching and training, Pocket Radar has engineered a revolutionary product line to fit your speed measurement needs. Each Pocket Radar design includes exceptional performance and technology that fits in the palm of your hand. Pocket Radar products are convenient and rugged enough for everyday use by everyone from pro to amateur, to National Championship winning coaches and anyone interested in speed. For more information about Pocket Radar, visit www.PocketRadar.com.

About USA SoftballUSA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.